Local government elections have always been low in the priority list of the democratically elected governments. The sitting provincial governments (who are responsible for holding these elections after the 18th amendment) have also been delaying them on different grounds. So far the elections have been held only in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) whereas Punjab, Sindh and Islamabad are being constantly pressed by the Supreme Court to hold the elections without further delay. Islamabad is yet to draft election rules after the passage of its local government law in the last week of the last month.
Till the filing of this report, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has submitted a proposal in the Supreme Court to hold local government elections in Sindh and Punjab in three stages on November 14, November 29 and December 19. It has taken the plea that both the governments are busy handling floods and not in a position to go for such a mega exercise at this moment.
While the apex court seems determined to ensure these elections are held, there are several questions about the effectiveness of the local governments, especially in Punjab, that need to be answered. Critics claim that the Punjab’s local government law and the structure of the local governments is such that there is not much left for this tier of state.
According to this law, the financial and administrative powers of the local government rest with the Punjab government. The functions of the chairmen and other local government representatives are however restricted only to activities like removal of encroachments, street lighting and electrification, street watering, holding of fairs and show and imposition of fines on impounded animals.
Mujtaba Chishti, a former local government representative during Musharraf era, the Punjab government has kept all the powers with itself, and cites the relevant section of the law that states: "The local governments established under this Act shall function within the provincial framework and shall faithfully observe the federal and provincial laws." The law also states that in the performance of their functions, the local governments shall not impede or prejudice the exercise of the executive authority of the (Punjab) Government. Chishti says nowhere in the draft is there any stress on the independence of the local governments.
He tells TNS the provincial government has the power to dissolve the local government which is totally against the spirit of local governance. Earlier, he says, they had used the word chief minister in the draft but later on they replaced the word with government. It is yet to be determined whether the government means the Punjab Assembly or the chief minister.
Another objection in this regard is that the Punjab government is setting up provincial authorities, one after the other, to run different affairs of the province and leaving very little for the local governments to do. There are around 17 authorities such as Parks and Horticulture Authority, Punjab Food Authority, Lahore Development Authority, Multan Development Authority, Punjab Metrobus Authority, District Health Authority and District Education Authority which will be controlled by the Punjab government.
"The district health and education authorities which will oversee provision of these services will have bureaucrats as heads appointed by the provincial government. This is totally unfair as it will keep the local government representatives at the union council out of the whole affair," says Salman Abid, a development sector expert with specialisation in local governance.
He says it is unfortunate that under the new system the district administration and police are not answerable to the head of the district government. The District Coordination Officers (DCOs), he says, will report to the chief secretary of the province and the District Police Officers (DPOs) to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of the province.
Besides, he says, the head of the district government has not been authorised to write the Annual Confidential Report (ACR) of the DCO whereas the DPOs are already independent of such requirements as per the police order of 2002. "How can one expect the local governments to be effective when the bureaucracy at the district government is not subservient to them?"
The Punjab government has also appointed divisional commissioners and regional police officers (RPOs) in areas comprising multiple districts, to make it easier for the chief minister to control the province through a handful of bureaucrats. The impression gets stronger that the chief minister will run the whole province/districts through bureaucracy even when the local governments are in place.
The financial independence for local governments is still a dream as the annual development plans of the districts will have to be approved by the MPAs and MNAs elected to the assemblies from there. A Punjab Local Government Commission will also be formed which will have the minister for local governments as its chairman. Other members will include two nominated by the leader of the House and one nominated by leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly.
This commission having MPAs on board will conduct annual and special inspections of the local governments and submit its reports to the (Punjab) Government and if so directed by it conduct an inquiry by itself or through any other agency about any matter concerning a local government. The commission may do the audit by itself or direct any other agency to conduct a special audit of any local government.
Another major objection against the existing election scheme is that union council members on reserved seats will be elected indirectly. The chairmen and vice chairmen along with five councillors will elect whoever they want. "This is totally unfair as an all-Muslim house will be able to elect a minority member and the minority community in that union council will have no say in the election of its member," says Kashif Nawab, a social worker and activist based in Youhanabad -- a Christian dominated community in Lahore.
Dr Zarqa Taimur, President Women’s Wing PTI Lahore, says if these issues are not addressed the development funds of Punjab will remain in Lahore as always. She claims that around 90 per cent of Punjab’s budget is being spent on Lahore and the chief minister wants things to be like this in future as well. "The Punjab government has given development funds to treasury members in the province so that they can win support of locals through development work whereas the opposition members are deprived of these," she adds.
The Punjab government’s proposal to hold election in three phases is also being seen with suspicion. In the first phase, critics believe, it may hold elections in select districts where PML-N is strong and use the results to its benefit during the subsequent phases.